Top videos
COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) makes it hard for you to breathe. The two main types are chronic bronchitis and emphysema. The main cause of COPD is long-term exposure to substances that irritate and damage the lungs. This is usually cigarette smoke. Air pollution, chemical fumes, or dust can also cause it. At first, COPD may cause no symptoms or only mild symptoms. As the disease gets worse, symptoms usually become more severe. They include A cough that produces a lot of mucus Shortness of breath, especially with physical activity Wheezing Chest tightness Doctors use lung function tests, imaging tests, and blood tests to diagnose COPD. There is no cure. Treatments may relieve symptoms. They include medicines, oxygen therapy, surgery, or a lung transplant. Quitting smoking is the most important step you can take to treat COPD.
There is any chance that the snake is venomous The person has difficulty breathing There is loss of consciousness If you know the snake is not venomous, treat as a puncture wound. 1. Note the Snake's Appearance Be ready to describe the snake to emergency staff. 2. Protect the Person While waiting for medical help: Move the person beyond striking distance of the snake. Have the person lie down with wound below the heart. Keep the person calm and at rest, remaining as still as possible to keep venom from spreading. Cover the wound with loose, sterile bandage. Remove any jewelry from the area that was bitten. Remove shoes if the leg or foot was bitten. Do not: Cut a bite wound Attempt to suck out venom Apply tourniquet, ice, or water Give the person alcohol or caffeinated drinks or any other medications
Atherosclerosis is a narrowing of the arteries caused by a buildup of plaque. It’s also called arteriosclerosis or hardening of the arteries. Arteries are the blood vessels that carry oxygen and nutrients from your heart to the rest of your body. As you get older, fat and cholesterol can collect in your arteries and form plaque. The buildup of plaque makes it difficult for blood to flow through your arteries. This buildup may occur in any artery in your body and can result in a shortage of blood and oxygen in various tissues of your body. Pieces of plaque can also break off, causing a blood clot. Atherosclerosis can lead to heart attack, stroke, or heart failure if left untreated.
Primary spontaneous pneumothorax is an abnormal accumulation of air in the space between the lungs and the chest cavity (called the pleural space) that can result in the partial or complete collapse of a lung. This type of pneumothorax is described as primary because it occurs in the absence of lung disease such as emphysema. Spontaneous means the pneumothorax was not caused by an injury such as a rib fracture. Primary spontaneous pneumothorax is likely due to the formation of small sacs of air (blebs) in lung tissue that rupture, causing air to leak into the pleural space. Air in the pleural space creates pressure on the lung and can lead to its collapse. A person with this condition may feel chest pain on the side of the collapsed lung and shortness of breath.
An untreated hepatic abscess is nearly uniformly fatal as a result of complications that include sepsis, empyema, or peritonitis from rupture into the pleural or peritoneal spaces, and retroperitoneal extension. Treatment should include drainage, either percutaneous or surgical. Antibiotic therapy as a sole treatment modality is not routinely advocated, though it has been successful in a few reported cases. It may be the only alternative in patients too ill to undergo invasive procedures or in those with multiple abscesses not amenable to percutaneous or surgical drainage. In these instances, patients are likely to require many months of antimicrobial therapy with serial imaging and close monitoring for associated complications.
Sinus infections caused by viruses can use home (over-the-counter, OTC) treatments such as pain and fever medications (acetaminophen [Tylenol]), decongestants, and mucolytics. In addition, some health-care professionals suggest nasal irrigation or a sinus rinse solution to help relieve symptoms of sinus infections, even chronic sinusitis symptoms.
Most retinal tears need to be treated by sealing the retina to the back wall of the eye with laser surgery or cryotherapy (a freezing treatment). Both of these procedures create a scar that helps seal the retina to the back of the eye. This prevents fluid from traveling through the tear and under the retina, which usually prevents the retina from detaching. These treatments cause little or no discomfort and may be performed in your ophthalmologist’s office. With laser surgery, your ophthalmologist uses a laser to make small burns around the retinal tear. The scarring that results seals the retina to the underlying tissue, helping to prevent a retinal detachment.
Compromise of the blood supply from microvascular disease, often in association with lack of sensation because of neuropathy, predisposes persons with diabetes mellitus to foot infections. These infections span the spectrum from simple, superficial cellulitis to chronic osteomyelitis. Diabetic foot infections typically take one of the following forms: Cellulitis Deep-skin and soft-tissue infections Acute osteomyelitis Chronic osteomyelitis Cellulitis Tender, erythematous, nonraised skin lesions are present, sometimes with lymphangitis Lymphangitis suggests group A streptococcal infection Bullae are typical of Staphylococcus aureus infection, but occasionally occur with group A streptococci
Depending on the fracture, the bone fragments may be fixed using screws, a plate and screws, or different wiring techniques. Because there is such a wide range of injuries, there is also a wide range of people's specific recovery time for ankle fracture surgery. It takes at least 6 weeks for the broken bones to heal.